Disney World Will Lay Off 42 Of Its 200 Musicians

March 12, 1988|By Vicki Vaughan of The Sentinel Staff

Walt Disney World will lay off about one-fifth of all musicians who play at its Magic Kingdom and Epcot Center parks as part of what the company said is an operational change and an effort to freshen entertainment.

The musicians -- 42 in all -- will be out of work indefinitely beginning April 9.

Although the musicians will keep their seniority for a year, they were given no assurances that they will be recalled later, said Tim Shea, president of the American Federation of Musicians, Local 389, in Orlando. Shea said Disney World had employed almost 200 musicians.

Shea estimated that the musicians' salaries total about $1 million a year. Some of the musicians are contract laborers; some are on Disney's payroll, he said, but he could not provide an exact breakdown. He said that Disney abided by the union contract, which requires that the company inform the union of layoffs four weeks in advance.

Disney spokesman Charlie Ridgway said that 12 ensembles will be laid off.

Ridgway said the layoffs are necessary as part of Disney's ''continuing effort to get the kind of entertainment that people seem to want and that attracts the most number of people.'' He said that most of the musicians who will be laid off play in the World Showcase area of Epcot.

While Ridgway stressed that the ''main entertainment elements are staying'' at the parks, he said that Disney seeks new entertainment as ''some acts run their course.''

''You obviously need to freshen your entertainment from time to time,'' he said. ''You need to have new things, because that's what makes people come back.''

Some of the musicians were philosophical about losing their jobs.

Mark McConnell of Kissimmee said the layoffs will bring an end to an eight-year gig for his bluegrass trio, HandPicked, at Frontierland in the Magic Kingdom.

''I don't have any ill feelings toward anyone at Disney,'' McConnell said. ''I'm don't want to come off as bitter about this. The reality is that Disney won't lose any business from HandPicked not being in Frontierland. We were not a revenue-producing item. But aesthetically, yes, they'll lose.''

John Ryther, a French horn player with the Maple Leaf Brass, said he moved from Los Angeles to Orlando to take the job with the group, but ''I don't feel like I was dealt with unfairly. I'm not whining. Disney did what it had to do. It's business. But that still doesn't prevent a hurt feeling.''

The union's Shea, though, voiced sharper disappointment. ''In light of Disney's spectacular performance last year, at its parks and at the box office, it's strange that Disney would initiate a layoff of this kind,'' he said.

For its latest fiscal quarter, Disney World's parent company reported that profit rose 40 percent to $100.4 million and that revenue climbed 11 percent to $734.6 million.

''We hope,'' Shea said, ''that Disney will see fit to provide the guests with the kind of high-quality entertainment they're buying with their hard- earned dollars. They shouldn't have to pay $28 to stand in line just to watch audio-animatronic figures.''